NREL finds nanotube semiconductors well-suited for PV systemsResearchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) discovered single-walled carbon nanotube semiconductors could be favorable for photovoltaic systems because they can potentially convert sunlight to electricity or fuels without losing much energy.

Outcomes of immunotherapy tablet for house dust mite allergy-related asthmaThe addition of a house dust mite (HDM) sublingual allergen immunotherapy (SLIT) tablet to maintenance medications improved time to first moderate or severe asthma exacerbation during a period of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) reduction among adults with HDM allergy-related asthma not well controlled by ICS, according to a study appearing in the April 26 issue of JAMA.

Despite their small brains -- ravens are just as clever as chimpsA study led by researchers at Lund University in Sweden shows that ravens are as clever as chimpanzees, despite having much smaller brains, indicating that rather than the size of the brain, the neuronal density and the structure of the birds' brains play an important role in terms of their intelligence.

Threat of novel swine flu viruses in pigs and humansThe wide diversity of flu in pigs across multiple continents, mostly introduced from humans, highlights the significant potential of new swine flu strains emerging, according to a study to be published in eLife.

The high cost of norovirus worldwideWhile norovirus is often linked in the news to outbreaks on cruise ships, the highly contagious stomach bug sickens nearly 700 million around the world every year and results in roughly $4.2 billion in health care costs and $60.3 billion in societal costs annually, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

Yoga may have health benefits for people with asthmaA new Cochrane Review, published in the Cochrane Library today, suggests that yoga may have a beneficial effect on symptoms and quality of life in people with asthma, but effects on lung function and medication use are uncertain.

Fossils may reveal 20-million-year history of penguins in AustraliaMultiple dispersals of penguins reached Australia after the continent split from Antarctica, including 'giant penguins' that may have lived there after they went extinct elsewhere, according to a study published April 26, 2016, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Travis Park from Monash University, Australia, and colleagues.

Statins and colorectal cancerA large case-control study published in this week's PLOS Medicine conducted by Ronac Mamtani, M.D., MSCE, an assistant professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA, and colleagues provides evidence that indication bias may explain the link between statin use and reduced colorectal cancer risk.

Abnormally low blood flow indicates damage to NFL players' brainsThe discovery of brain pathology through autopsy in former National Football League (NFL) players called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has raised substantial concern among players, medical professionals, and the general public about the impact of repetitive head trauma.

Does frequent sex lead to better relationships? Depends on how you askNewlywed couples who have a lot of sex don't report being any more satisfied with their relationships than those who have sex less often, but their automatic behavioral responses tell a different story, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Increased risk of coronary heart disease seen among women who work rotating night shiftsIn a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital published in the April 26 issue of JAMA, researchers found that women who work more than 10 years of rotating night shift work had a 15 to 18 percent increased risk of developing coronary heart disease, the most common type of heart disease, as compared with women who did not work rotating night shifts.

Carbon dioxide fertilization greening Earth, study findsFrom a quarter to half of Earth's vegetated lands has shown significant greening over the last 35 years largely due to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change on April 25.

Researchers find brain circuit that controls binge drinkingResearchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a circuit between two brain regions that controls alcohol binge drinking, offering a more complete picture on what drives a behavior that costs the United States more than $170 billion annually and how it can be treated.

Measuring happiness on social mediaIn a study published in March in the journal PLOS One, University of Iowa computer scientists used two years of Twitter data to measure users' life satisfaction, a component of happiness.

NASA team set to fly balloon mission seeking evidence of cosmological inflationNow that scientists have confirmed the existence of gravitational waves, a NASA team is set to search for a predicted signature of primordial gravitational waves that would prove the infant universe expanded far faster than the speed of light and began growing exponentially almost instantaneously after the Big Bang.

Despite efforts, childhood obesity remains on the riseThe alarming increase in US childhood obesity rates that began nearly 30 years ago continues unabated, with the biggest increases in severe obesity, according to a study led by a Duke Clinical Research Institute scientist.

Radiant zinc fireworks reveal human egg qualityA stunning explosion of zinc fireworks occurs when a human egg is activated by a sperm enzyme, and the size of these 'sparks' is a direct measure of the quality of the egg and its ability to develop into an embryo.

It takes more than peer pressure to make large microgels fit inResearchers believe they've solved the mystery of how oversized microgels shrink to fit colloidal crystals, and what they've learned could also have implications for biological systems made up of soft organic particles not unlike the polymer microgels.

When it's more than just an ouch! What parents should knowDr. Lonnie Zeltzer, director of the UCLA Pediatric Pain and Palliative Care Program, is co-author of a new book on helping children cope with pain: 'Pain in Children and Young Adults: The Journey Back to Normal: Two Pediatricians' Mind-Body Guide for Parents.'

EARTH: Making tracks through the dinosaur diamondEARTH Magazine travels through time to meet the major players of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous -- from sauropods and theropods to protomammals -- that created the rich tapestry of life in this region millions of years ago.

Reducing waste while improving snack nutritionWashington State University food scientists have discovered how to add carrot pomace -- the pulpy leftover from juicing the veggies -- to cornstarch, increasing the nutrition and 'puffiness' of snack foods.

Play as a field for researchCreativity, engagement and lifelong learning are three key focal points for PLAYTrack, a new research project at the Interacting Minds Centre at Aarhus University in Denmark.

Study may explain gene's role in major psychiatric disordersA new study shows the death of newborn brain cells may be linked to a genetic risk factor for five major psychiatric diseases, and at the same time shows a compound currently being developed for use in humans may have therapeutic value for these diseases by preventing the cells from dying.

Newly discovered titanosaurian dinosaur from Argentina, SarmientosaurusScientists have discovered Sarmientosaurus musacchioi, a new species of titanosaurian dinosaur, based on an complete skull and partial neck fossil unearthed in Patagonia, Argentina, according to a study published April 26, 2016, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Rubén Martínez from the Laboratorio de Paleovertebrados of the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Argentina, and colleagues.

Coral 'toolkit' allows floating larvae to transform into reef skeletonsIn a study published today, researchers from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Rutgers University, and the University of Haifa identified key and novel components of the molecular 'toolkit' that allow corals to build their skeletons (called biomineralization) and described when -- in the transformation from floating larvae to coral skeleton -- these components are used.

Chernobyl, three decades onThe Chernobyl disaster struck 30 years ago today. The devastating radiation spill created a huge radio-ecological laboratory where University of South Carolina professor Tim Mousseau and colleagues have been studying the effects of radiation on free-living organisms since 2000.

One oil field a key culprit in global ethane gas increaseA single US shale oil field is responsible for much of the past decade's increase in global atmospheric levels of ethane, a gas that can damage air quality and impact climate, according to new study led by the University of Michigan.

Chile quake at epicenter of expanding disaster and failure data repositoryThe National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has made available a comprehensive set of data from the 2010 Chile earthquake to provide researchers, engineers, codemakers and others in quake-prone areas worldwide a powerful tool to help them improve resilience to future seismic events.

Atomic magnets using hydrogen and grapheneCIC nanoGUNE researchers in collaboration with the Autonomous University of Madrid and the Institut Néel of Grenoble have shown for the first time that the simple absorption of a hydrogen atom on a layer of graphene magnetises a large region of this material.

Proteomics method measures carbon uptake of marine microbesIn a paper published April 26 in mSystems, a team of researchers led by microbiologists at Oregon State University, in Corvallis, describe a successful trial of a new method of identifying the carbon uptake of specific marine bacterioplankton taxa.

Large wildlife important for carbon storage in tropical forestsConserving wildlife can benefit carbon storage in tropical forests across the world, and thus contribute to controlling global warming, predicts an international consortium of researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), University of Leeds and 12 other academic and conservation institutions.

We share a molecular armor with coral reefsA new study published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B has found that one particular molecule found in reef ecosystems plays a similar immunological role in corals as it does in humans.

Best Science Podcasts 2019

SetbacksFailure can feel lonely and final. But can we learn from failure, even reframe it, to feel more like a temporary setback? This hour, TED speakers on changing a crushing defeat into a stepping stone. Guests include entrepreneur Leticia Gasca, psychology professor Alison Ledgerwood, astronomer Phil Plait, former professional athlete Charly Haversat, and UPS training manager Jon Bowers.

#524 The Human NetworkWhat does a network of humans look like and how does it work? How does information spread? How do decisions and opinions spread? What gets distorted as it moves through the network and why? This week we dig into the ins and outs of human networks with Matthew Jackson, Professor of Economics at Stanford University and author of the book "The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs, and Behaviours".